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00:01The greatest show on earth is about to begin.
00:07That is outrageous!
00:09And it goes!
00:21Oh dear, oh dear.
00:30That's a howler!
00:41Is this what Scottish football is about?
00:43Delicious!
00:44Oh, worse!
00:50Champions!
00:52This has been an absolute barnstormer!
01:01Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages,
01:05it is my pleasure to welcome you for the very first time this season
01:09to A View from the Terrace.
01:11It's a brand new campaign, it's a brand new studio
01:14and it's a brand new haircut, but my name is still Craig Gordon Telfer
01:18and I am still here ranking, rating and reviewing
01:21every single atom of Scottish football
01:24from the superstars at the very top
01:26all the way through the pyramid.
01:28It's a very big job, but helping me out are two very big boys.
01:33Up first, it's a man who was once described online as a swagless oaf
01:37and what would happen to a hairy dog tangled in a fence
01:40if it was given human life for 24 hours?
01:43It's Craig Fowler.
01:45Just the two insults to kick us off.
01:47Plenty more where that came from.
01:49I know!
01:50And up next, this man has one of the most distinctive voices
01:53in sports broadcasting.
01:55Imagine Murray Walker and Jerry the King Lawler had a child
01:58and fed at nothing but cabbage and ribs.
02:01It's Tony Anderson.
02:02Hello mate, how are we doing?
02:03Oh, I'm very well and it's great to get the opportunity
02:06to kick off this show with you both.
02:08How are you doing? Fowler, how's things been?
02:10Tremendous, had an excellent summer.
02:12Went to South America for three weeks and then I came back
02:15and for the first time in over a decade I got a season ticket
02:18and what a time to get it because my team are flying.
02:21Three weeks in South America, was it?
02:23Yes, it was.
02:24Somebody is doing alright.
02:27And you, your team's doing no bad.
02:29Yes, Dennis Muir, hi, doing really, really well
02:31but outside of that I just waited here for four months
02:34until we got the chance to...
02:35Did you build it off for us?
02:36Yeah, it's pretty much.
02:38I gave it a wee bit of finish and touch, polish some of the edge there
02:40but it's looking good.
02:41And you know what?
02:42It's great to get the chance to spend the time with you.
02:44Three very insufferable people whose teams are doing well.
02:47Enjoy the show.
02:53Right, let's not muck around here lads.
02:55We are almost three months into the new season.
02:58So much has happened, there has been so much action
03:00and I would like to review everything that's happened
03:03in its binary form.
03:05Let's talk about the good and the bad, the winners and the losers
03:08from Scottish football so far this season.
03:10And it's more fun to talk about the losers
03:12so let's go to the biggest losers of them all, Tony,
03:15Aberdeen Football Club.
03:16It is absolutely mind-bending watching how Aberdeen
03:20like whole existence is playing out.
03:24I mean now over, going at the last season and this season
03:26we're now at five league wins in 32 games but with this random anomaly
03:31of winning the Scottish Cup in the mixer.
03:33But the bad part of last season has bled into this season
03:37and we're now six games in and I saw this graphic kicking about
03:41the other day and it's just a list of the scores,
03:44pretty self-explanatory.
03:45As you would imagine after what I just said, none of them have scored.
03:48And that is the only bleeding point in getting on the park.
03:52Aberdeen's squad has scored more league goals for hearts this season
03:55than they have Aberdeen.
03:57What are we putting this down to?
03:59I think it must be some sort of satanic pact that was made last season
04:03that when they went to win the Scottish Cup you will have the time of your life
04:07but then after that it will be completely joyless.
04:09It is mad because the attacking talent in that squad is brilliant
04:13and yet they're not scoring any goals and they're not even like a defensive team.
04:17It's not like a manager who's just sitting to draw every game 0-0
04:20and if you get a goal all brilliant.
04:22They actually go out to try and attack teams.
04:23They just can't get the ball over the line.
04:25But that's the thing.
04:26If the attacking unit isn't working then neither is the defensive unit at the moment
04:29because you saw Dimitar Mitov who was the hero of that Scottish Cup win over Celtic
04:33saving penalties from Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnson.
04:36He makes an inexplicable error in that defeat to Motherwell on Saturday.
04:40That was like the most unbelievable and yet believable thing
04:44that when Aberdeen missed all these opportunities to score
04:46he's like well at the very least they'll leave with a point
04:49and then Johnny Katrumbus cutting inside, shooting with his weaker foot
04:53and meet off with the worst mistake he's made in Scottish football so far.
04:57It was just, again like I say, unbelievable but believable.
05:00Aberdeen are a really proud club.
05:02They're very, and rightly so, very proud of their heritage
05:05and they should be delighted with that Scottish Cup win back in May over Celtic
05:08but the more this goes on it actually looks like Celtic lost the cup rather than Aberdeen won it.
05:13Yeah, I mean it's hard to not look at it now and think that that Aberdeen team
05:17is the worst team that's ever won a major trophy in Scottish football history.
05:21But listen, if Aberdeen are the big losers so far this season, Craig Fowler, who are the big winners?
05:28It's got to be Tony Bloom's Heart of Midlothian.
05:30And we're only five minutes in and already we've become Hearts Fan TV.
05:33To be fair, to be fair, yes we say the word Hearts quite a lot on this show
05:37but come on, we have to talk about the team that's top of the Scottish Premiers
05:40statistically the best team in Scottish football at this point in time
05:43if we're forgetting about the League Cup.
05:45I mean, it's been an absolutely remarkable season.
05:47Not only are Hearts playing this really super high-tempo, aggressive brand of football,
05:52they're getting big wins.
05:53You know, they won at Ibrox for the first time in years.
05:56They've also managed to do it by signing these unheralded, no-name players
06:00that have been sourced from various outposts around the continent.
06:02This is the point, this is Jamestown Analytics, this is what it is.
06:05You unearth the gems.
06:06So we're signing guys for the fourth tier of Italian football,
06:09the second tier of Norwegian football,
06:11for the Slovakian top flight.
06:12There's somebody coming in from Kazakhstan in January.
06:15It all sounds so simple.
06:17Yes, aye.
06:18How does Jamestown work?
06:19Do you just go on it and go like that?
06:21Cheap, good, zen, massive list.
06:25Just sign them all, aye.
06:27Mr McInnes, are you sure? Sign them all.
06:30It seems so simple that why aren't other teams doing this?
06:33Whatever that magic algorithm is that Tory Bloom keeps so secret,
06:37we might never know.
06:38One day we might find out actually exactly what it is.
06:40Maybe it is Tory system, maybe it's just cheap and good
06:42and everybody else is just over-complicating things.
06:44I don't know how secret he makes it.
06:45He came and handed Hearts ten million pounds so they would use it.
06:49Oh, what a secret, please use it.
06:51I know you're quite a pragmatic guy, quite a depressing guy at times,
06:55quite difficult to be around, but surely, Fowler,
06:58you must be getting a wee bit carried away at the moment.
07:01Celtic aren't very good.
07:02Rangers, even worse.
07:03That leaves it wide open for Hart and Midlovian
07:06to win the Premiership title 25-26.
07:09Do you think that?
07:10No, I don't, for obvious reasons.
07:12Warren!
07:13I think it's come maybe a little bit too early,
07:15but do you know what, when Tory Bloom spoke to the Hearts fans today,
07:18he says, I'll be surprised if we don't win a league in ten years.
07:20Surprised!
07:21Initially, I was like, oh, don't do this, don't do this,
07:23but now I'm kind of like, well, I can actually see how this model could work.
07:27You bring these guys that are cheap, and then guys like Braga,
07:29guys like Kizaridis, have them maintain their form next summer,
07:32sell them on for a few million, reinvest it.
07:34Now I'm thinking, hmm, a title in the next ten years could be possible.
07:38What are you saying, like, that's the model that he's just come up with?
07:41Sign players cheap, sell them for more.
07:43I thought, oh God, Tory Bloom!
07:46I think it's more aggressive, I think it strips out the emotion of it,
07:49and that you don't just hold onto guys because they're fan favourites.
07:51Fans are going to get their hearts broken every single season
07:53because these guys are just going to be moved on
07:55as soon as somebody comes in with a lot of money for them.
07:57As long as they're at the peak value.
07:58Yes, and as long as they keep doing it and keep winning season upon season,
08:01then it could happen.
08:03Now listen, that's what's been going on in the Scottish Premiership.
08:05I would like to talk about the big winners from the Scottish Championship,
08:09and that is St Johnstone Football Club.
08:11Top of the table, flying high, an enormous gap between themselves
08:14in second place. Everything is going in their favour.
08:17I just think that St Johnstone are basically, I already feel like that's done.
08:20They've already won the league.
08:22And with Simo Vallecari there, it just seemed they were quite brave keeping them on.
08:25It's really easy to get rid of a manager of relegation,
08:27but with his style, the way he wants to play football,
08:30it really suits playing a team at the top end of the league.
08:33And then on top of that, you've got a guy like Josh McPake,
08:36who has been revitalised, re-energised,
08:38and is arguably the best player outside the top flight at the moment.
08:41And a club should always be looking to play at the highest level possible,
08:44but when they do get relegated, you want to see them being revitalised.
08:48Yeah, you're going to see it.
08:49But that's been the case.
08:50Relegation's been good for St Johnstone,
08:52and when they go back to the Premiership,
08:54and I think it is a matter of time,
08:55they will go back a far better club than the one who left.
08:57I never thought I'd say this, but St Johnstone have got a bit of an aura about it.
09:01I'm stuck with this aura thing.
09:03I've just imagined all the farmers coming up,
09:04having a big aura with the tractors,
09:06with the suspension going up like that.
09:08Not every season can be plain sailing,
09:14there has to be grumbles somewhere,
09:15and it came in the form, weirdly enough,
09:17of a competition, ostensibly for children,
09:20to design a Halloween-themed T-shirt that would go on sale in the club store.
09:24And there are a couple of designs submitted,
09:26including one by a professional cartoonist called Steve Bright.
09:29That does give me the vibe that maybe they were like,
09:31the stuff that was coming in was rubbish.
09:33Yeah.
09:34We need to add to sell this, we want to make a few quid.
09:36Steve-O, you still doing that?
09:38You doing a bit of that old painting still, son?
09:40It's like Adam Webb going through all these things.
09:42These are terrible, these will never sell.
09:44Get me the number of the cartoonist!
09:46Now, St Johnstone are the winners in the Scottish Championship.
09:50Who are the losers?
09:51The pre-season favourites, Ross County.
09:54They have been stinking to start the campaign,
09:57and they're already in a new manager,
09:59who's now brought in another manager alongside them.
10:01Tory Doherty replacing Downcowey,
10:03and then got Callum Davidson as his assistant slash defensive coordinator.
10:07But if you said at the beginning of the season
10:09that Ross County would begin the campaign
10:11with four points from eight matches,
10:13and have yet to actually win a game,
10:15I don't think anyone would have believed you.
10:17It was funny, because everybody praised their recruitment,
10:18and then St Johnstone's initial sign,
10:20and everybody was like, hmm, not sure about them.
10:22But I think maybe in hindsight we got a bit wrong
10:25in the fact that County went for these guys
10:27who are experienced players,
10:28played for many years at the highest level,
10:30and now they're dropping down a level.
10:31Don't necessarily have a point to prove.
10:33Yes!
10:34On paper, they made a number of good signings,
10:35like Ross Doherty, former Dundee United captain,
10:37and Declan Gallagher, former Scotland international.
10:40Yeah, and now he's been made captain by Tony Doherty,
10:42but he has had an appalling season so far,
10:45and it's best summed up by the game against Queen's Park.
10:48They were beating 2-1 at home.
10:49Gallagher was at fault for the first goal,
10:51and then he was sent off, hauling down Matty Shields,
10:53and you could just see it written all over him
10:56as he lay there, face down, on the turf,
10:59just taking it all in, this disaster of a season,
11:02as the referees standing there patiently waiting to send him off.
11:05I actually felt the referee is like,
11:06I feel really bad to him.
11:07I feel really bad that I'm going to have to show him this.
11:09Because he's lying motionless on the board,
11:11like a dead body, and the referee is like,
11:13Declan, Declan, Declan.
11:16And then eventually just has to slide the red card.
11:21There's something not quite right at Ross County,
11:24and it'll be very interesting to see how Tony Doherty
11:27extricates the club from their current position.
11:30Tony, let's talk about winners.
11:33Let's talk about silly season,
11:34and let's talk about Scottish clubs
11:36having a good laugh on the continent.
11:38What a time to see Hibs and Dundee United go to some, like,
11:41massive heritage European clubs, going to Rapid Vienna,
11:44Partizan, Belgrade, Legia Warsaw.
11:46I mean, that's the most successful club in Polish history.
11:49And just cause absolute havoc.
11:51I mean, like, seven goals were scored,
11:52and even if you take away the away side of it,
11:55we saw Kieran Bowie probably score the greatest goal
11:58a Scottish player's ever scored in European competition.
12:02And it's just, it was so much fun to be a part of.
12:07The videos that we saw from the time in Europe,
12:09particularly saying Hibs away,
12:10aha, aha, I like it, are absolutely fantastic.
12:12Yeah, the one in Denmark where you can see the whole stand,
12:14cause Hibs got the whole stand at the back there going right along.
12:17And even, like, people, even outside the stands,
12:26people driving around airports, doing like that.
12:29There was something so amazing about it,
12:34cause you were going to, like, some of the,
12:36well, the most intimidating atmospheres in Europe,
12:39Belgrade, Warsaw, famous across Europe.
12:42But then when the goals are going in,
12:44and you're playing these, they've got the huge flares going everywhere,
12:47absolute mad.
12:48And everyone's like,
12:51As always with Scottish football, it was so close, but yet so far.
12:55Yeah, how do you sum that up then,
12:56the fact that you did come within touching distance
12:58to getting in the Europa League football?
13:00It was an absolute gut punch.
13:01And, like, now it's like, with all that,
13:03it was like, the six, the six games,
13:05it was like, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.
13:07Then the league season comes in, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.
13:09And then by the time you're out, I'm absolutely,
13:11I was absolutely knackered.
13:13The travelling was mental trying to get back.
13:15And then you've got, and then by the time, I'm footballed out.
13:17And then you're like,
13:18Oh, right, there's an entire season.
13:19Now there are some stories in Scottish football
13:23that are a bit more complex and require a deeper analysis.
13:27So I think this is the perfect opportunity to talk about
13:30the hottest topic that's in Scottish football right now.
13:32And that is fan protests.
13:34There are three clubs in the SPFL, all of varying levels.
13:38They're all going through their own additions of existential crisis.
13:41So I think it's a good idea to examine them, talk about them,
13:44and try to understand what is going wrong at those teams.
13:47And we'll start with yourself first, Craig Fowler.
13:49Let's talk about Rangers Football Club.
13:51I think it is best summed up by the game against Livingston last weekend
13:55where Rangers score a 94th minute winner.
13:58And within about five seconds of that ball hitting the back of the net,
14:01you can hear the Rangers fans chanting,
14:03Martin, Martin, get the fuck.
14:05All right.
14:06Russell Martin really can't do right for doing wrong, can he?
14:09No, they never really liked him from the start.
14:11They didn't really think he unnecessarily had the pedigree to manage Rangers,
14:14and they just didn't like him as a person, really.
14:17Yeah, you can remove all the pedigree stuff.
14:19They don't like the fact that he puts his hair around like that.
14:21They don't like what he eats for his dinner.
14:23When he was previewing the Livingston game with a pair of glasses,
14:26I saw people commenting on the other side,
14:28he's doing this just to wind up.
14:29A man wants to see better and it annoys you.
14:33That's just, when you're in that sort of position,
14:36you really are, it's no win.
14:38You're afraid you'll lose a battle.
14:39Yeah, and you saw it as well with the League Cup game against Hibbs,
14:42one of his, again, like the Living game,
14:44one of his rare high points in domestic football so far,
14:47where during the match they've got the big banners
14:50with Martin's face and the no-smoking sign over the top of it,
14:53and it was that, Patrick Stewart as well, the chief executive as well,
14:56who they're obviously blaming for hiring Martin in the first place,
14:59because obviously if you make a mistake of manager,
15:01you have to go yourself.
15:03Straight away.
15:04Now, while Rangers are unhappy that their manager is a vegan,
15:06I want to talk about a club who are fighting for the very existence,
15:10and that is Hamilton Academico.
15:13You know, the last couple of years have been really difficult
15:15for Aki's fans, but I think the six months especially
15:18have been incredibly testing.
15:19For breaching a number of SPFL rules,
15:21they were deducted 15 points at the tail end of last season.
15:24That ultimately led to the relegation into League One,
15:27and then the day after that it was announced
15:29that the club were moving from New Douglas Park in Hamilton
15:32to Broadwood in Cumbernauld, 14 miles away.
15:35A stadium no-one wants to use.
15:36A stadium that no-one wants to use at all.
15:38And then it was revealed a couple of weeks later
15:40to be placed under a transfer embargo for the breach of these rules.
15:43Now, they took on Montrose on the opening game of the season
15:46at Broadwood, and before the match a number of fans
15:48were protesting outside the ground.
15:50The footage is actually captured there by a vlogger,
15:52and you can see the fans really unhappy with the move to Cumbernauld,
15:56the mismanagement in the club.
15:58So they're in a real sad place.
16:00The fact that the club has been moved 14 miles down the road,
16:03the fact that they are under a transfer embargo.
16:05There is talk of a takeover, it's yet to materialise,
16:08but Hamilton's position is pretty perilous.
16:11I kind of found it hard to even try to have a laugh about it,
16:13because it's just really sad.
16:15Like, imagine that happening to your club.
16:17It's like systematic destruction from the people
16:19who are supposed to be custodians.
16:21If you're a custodian, you're supposed to be looking after the club,
16:24and it's clear that they're not doing that.
16:25Yeah, definitely.
16:26The idea of, like, financial mismanagement,
16:28I think the director of football, Gerry Strain,
16:30particularly disliked at the club.
16:32Wait till they find out he's vegan.
16:33They're going to be absolutely furious with it.
16:36But it just shows the contrast in what's going on at the clubs,
16:39and if we're talking about a big club and a smaller club,
16:42let's finish up by looking at a bigger club,
16:44and that's Celtic.
16:45What, the biggest club?
16:46Is that what you're saying?
16:47Oh, the big team found!
16:49Yeah, like, with Celtic, it's more of an existential thing.
16:54I mean, last year, everybody went,
16:56after years and years of not moving forward at all in Europe,
16:59they finally sort of break through that.
17:01They finally seem to have found their place in it,
17:03and they were really, really unlucky against Bayern Munich
17:06to get knocked out at that stage.
17:07But from then, it was like that moment.
17:09It was like a switch went off, and it's like, right, we give up.
17:11They started drawing all the games in the Scottish Premiership,
17:13and now when we've come to the summer,
17:15it's like the transfer window just snuck up on them.
17:18Not everyone just completely forgot about it.
17:21And then they had one of their most embarrassing results in Europe ever,
17:24and they...
17:25They had Almaty, the Kazakh champions,
17:27so they're not a particularly good side.
17:29Yeah, and they went, what, 210 minutes without scoring a goal against them.
17:32So, for the Celtic fans, for them, the context is everything.
17:36They put so much into Celtic.
17:38They understand that they have probably one of the most unique situations in football,
17:42which is perfect for maybe making a speculative signing or two,
17:46getting yourself ready.
17:47This season, for example, the Champions League,
17:49that's not going to be as easy to get from now on.
17:51So it seemed sensible this time, from even a business perspective,
17:54never tell a sporting perspective,
17:56to really get ready and make sure that we make that so we can push forward.
17:59But they say, you know, do it.
18:00It just always feels like Celtic are run like a tiny club,
18:03despite being one of the biggest clubs on the planet.
18:05It's not quite a scale of Hamilton,
18:07but Celtic fans have got the right to be very angry at their board.
18:10The fans want to feel when they invest so much time, money and enthusiasm,
18:14that they're going to try and break into other parts of it.
18:16I think, as well, with fan protest,
18:18everyone needs to be united in order to make them work.
18:22I mean, Celtic protest in Rugby Park at their away game against Kilmarnock,
18:25where the fans were going to enter the ground after 12 minutes
18:28to make the point that they are the 12th man
18:30and without them, Celtic won't have a support.
18:32In theory, it's a good idea, but in practice,
18:35I mean, half the away stand was full by the time they came in.
18:38So when these fans did turn up,
18:40it looked like a supporters bus had broken down on the way to the ground
18:42and these guys had just made it.
18:43It did not have the impact that it should have done
18:45because not everyone was pulling in the same direction.
18:47I think a problem with that as well is that you need to vote more with your feet,
18:51like in general.
18:52Rather than doing these things,
18:53we're making a protest of coming in 50 minutes late
18:56or leaving 50 minutes from the end or whatever.
18:58You're still giving the club money.
19:00I think the only way that it ever makes boards set up and pay attention
19:02is to withdraw your funds.
19:04Protests can work as well.
19:06I mean, Tony Hibernian,
19:08they've probably had one of the most famous fan movements in Scottish football.
19:11Yeah, I mean, we take you back to 1990.
19:14I was four years old.
19:16This is actually my earliest memory of football.
19:18It was Wallace Mercer.
19:19He tried to make an aggressive takeover.
19:21Hibbs, I mean, he called it a merger,
19:23but he was going to use the football club of Habernia and Heart of Midlothian.
19:26It was an incredible time because to see,
19:32like, they unified the whole Hibbs fan base
19:35and it was like military precision.
19:37They'd done a six-week campaign where there are buses going through Edinburgh.
19:40Like, this is when Sunshine Leaf became the unofficial anthem of the club.
19:44The proclaimers were there.
19:46They were hosting gigs at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh
19:49and it all ended with David Duff, who was the chairman at Hibbs there.
19:53And he wasn't very popular because, obviously, his financial management is what led to this situation.
19:57Wallace Mercer needed his shares to get over there.
19:59He actually sat in Wallace Mercer's office
20:02and set fire to his shares in front of them.
20:05So, I mean, this is...
20:06It was such a cultural movement
20:08and the T-shirts were really, really cool.
20:10So, it's like the memory of...
20:11Hands off Hibbs. It's a good name as well, yeah.
20:13Hands off Hibbs. It all really worked.
20:14So, now you can look back at a difficult time.
20:16It's now probably one of the most romanticised periods
20:19and managing to get Tom Farmer to come forward and save the club, like his grandfather done
20:24a hundred years earlier, done the exact same thing, despite not being involved in football.
20:28It now looks as actually quite a magical time.
20:30Hibbs went on and won the Skull Cup that season.
20:32I think in every instance, though, the protest, they can be justified.
20:35Yes, the barrier for entry might have reduced in recent years
20:38and, yes, if you're just unhappy the fact your manager's got a middle parting, then...
20:43Glasses.
20:44And glasses.
20:45You need to have slightly higher standards.
20:46But I always think that it's all relative to the football club.
20:49The fact that people think Celtic are the most successful football club in the country
20:53are just unhappy that they're not winning.
20:55Yeah.
20:56They don't have as good a squad as they think.
20:58That's all relative to the fans.
20:59The fact that Rangers fans are not happy with the direction of the club,
21:01it's all relative to them.
21:02The fact that Hamilton fans are not happy with the very existence of their club...
21:06Everyone would be angry with that.
21:08Right, it's all relative to them.
21:09So, yeah, I think that in probably most instances, protests are correct.
21:13Yeah, everybody in football should have the right, as a fan,
21:16to hold accountable the people who are in charge of their club.
21:18Because without that, then things could get a lot worse.
21:21And nowadays in Scottish football, we have so much foreign investment.
21:25The clubs have never been further away from their communities, let's be honest.
21:28Especially in Hamilton's case.
21:29Yeah.
21:32And we have to treat that with suspicion.
21:34People have to prove their reasons for being involved,
21:37and protests is the quickest way to do that.
21:39It's not for us.
21:40You're not for them.
21:41You're not for them.
21:42No, you're not for them.
21:44I do not hurt them.
21:45For them.
21:46Hmm, my boy...
21:47This side, I suppose it's like a first-love that you can't let go of.
22:00Mmm, that ball.
22:02This side.
22:03I suppose it's like a first love that you can't let go of.
22:06It doesn't actually feel like we've been away.
22:08It seems like we've been more like an exile or something.
22:13We're waiting to come back.
22:23Our journey to our new home takes us past the stadium,
22:28which is quite ironic.
22:30We finish our game, we cross down the bridge,
22:34and there they are.
22:37I'm an S-Calladonian Thistle.
22:39It's almost comical.
22:42We wish them all the worst, and, oh my God!
22:47I just wish that they took our Thistle part away
22:50so as not to confuse anybody with what we have going,
22:54which is the rebirth of I'm an S-Thistle.
22:56My name's Russell Hepburn.
22:59I'm an S-Thistle, obviously, my club.
23:01We were formed in 1885, and we're the inaugural champions of the Highland League.
23:07I was taken to Thistle Park from the age of four onwards with family and relatives.
23:14It's always been in my blood.
23:16Growing up as a Thistle fan was a great experience
23:19because in those days we had brilliant derby matches.
23:21The local rival were called Caledonian or Cali,
23:27and that was a brilliant occasion, something to really look forward to.
23:31Previous team, our last ever competitive fixture versus Lossiemouth, that's 93-94.
23:36In 92, 93, I think it was, there seemed to be a groundswell of opinion
23:43that Thistle and Cali would have to merge as one team.
23:46The merger of Inverness clubs Caledonian and Thistle became an on-field reality at the weekend.
23:52It's not hard to see why the Thistle fans are so blue.
23:56Dead set against it, as all Ardent fans were.
23:59The new team's strip is almost a carbon copy of the old blue Cali shirt.
24:04The team's playing in Cali Park with Cali's former manager and most of Cali's players.
24:09It was never a question of would I ever attend and follow that club.
24:14It was never a question, so basically that was my Saturdays.
24:16The football capacity had gone, and that was it finished.
24:20To me, Thistle were the first and last.
24:22Then once they went, I would never have a passion to support another club.
24:26I kind of lost a lot of love for football.
24:31It's been indifference every other Saturday for 31 years.
24:39I got a phone call saying that there was a small group floating the idea of bringing Thistle back.
24:46Obviously, I just jumped onto that.
24:49It was a no-brainer, absolutely.
24:50I mean, Thistle FC, founded in 2024, gained admittance into the North Caledonian League,
25:08and that's the sixth tier of Scottish football.
25:11Ah, brilliant, mate.
25:13They've even got the wonky touchlines.
25:14It's exciting.
25:17They've been playing well.
25:17It's a good concept, and people are buying into it.
25:21Ah, it's a cracker, isn't it?
25:23So now you have us playing in a much lesser league outside of town.
25:40You've got to start somewhere.
25:43It's kind of funny coming here because, obviously, it's not a stadium as such.
25:46We don't have the main stand, the tin shed and whatnot.
25:48There's no admittance fee.
25:49You come for a gate, you're on the sidelines, you're behind this piece of rope and whatnot.
25:53But it's a great hope.
25:57The Jags usually play in the red and black vertical stripes as an ace in Milan.
26:00Today, we're playing the waist strip, which has always been the sky blue with the purple trim.
26:05I keep saying I'm never going to wear it again because it's like 31 years of age.
26:08Can't help it.
26:09I've not seen these guys for years, and I know it means as much to them as it means to me.
26:26The memories and everything just comes flooding back.
26:29It's like a huge reunion on the sidelines.
26:31That's the way.
26:54Go yourself.
26:55Go yourself.
26:56Go.
27:03Go.
27:10Our ultimate aim is to get back into playing in the Highlands League.
27:14For me, just getting our club, our colours and my Saturdays back
27:20It's incredible
27:22Miracle, it's too important
27:26So, as autumn rolls in
27:36We are well and truly in the midst of the season
27:39Every team's squad is settled
27:41And we know the difference from our great white hopes
27:43To our great big huddies
27:44And I want to discuss this magical time in a bit more depth
27:48That magical time known as the summer transfer window
27:52Now, every nation that's involved with FIFA and UEFA has a summer transfer window
27:57But no one does it quite as good as Scotland
28:00Craig Fowler, what does the transfer window mean to you?
28:03The transfer window is a special and unique time of the year
28:07Especially the summer transfer window
28:09Because in January there's still a lot of moving parts going on
28:11Summer there's no football
28:13And you've drawn a line under what's come before
28:15Usually crushing disappointment
28:17But the summer offers hope
28:19It offers the ability that anybody you bring in can be the next club hero
28:23The next player to lead you to, like, cup victory
28:27Or a league title
28:28And forever be somebody that's going to be within your heart
28:31Even when they're signed from a low level
28:33And some fans are like, well, I'm not sure about this
28:35There's always an instance of somebody you can fall back on
28:38Well, well, he came from that level
28:40And he was brilliant
28:41So it's just the time of the year where
28:43Everybody's at their most happiest
28:44Because anything is possible
28:46Everyone's at their happiest
28:47But everyone's also at their most curious, Tony
28:50And it turns some people into detectives
28:52Oh, man, this new thing
28:54People are so desperate to know who's coming into their club
28:57You can't wait for the tweet to drop
28:59Everybody wants to be ITK
29:01Yeah, everyone wants to have that
29:03And my favourite part of this genre that I've seen in recent years
29:07Is there was a guy on Hibs.net called Saul Goodman
29:10All right
29:10And he, through, like, scouring social media profiles
29:15For this player it was specifically Stefano Meonga
29:18He managed to figure out that he was leaving at a specific time
29:22On us flight
29:23And he managed to look at the flight times and work it
29:25Well, that was four hours ago
29:26So that means he might have been on the flight from Milan
29:29That was at 6am
29:30Landing at 10 past 8 in Edinburgh
29:32So he's figuring all this out
29:34And then Meonga posts something on his social media
29:37With the sun
29:38And I quote
29:39You can see the reflection of the sun
29:41In the wingtip of the plane
29:42The sun is rising on the opposite side of the plane to him
29:44Ergo, the plane is flying north
29:46Over the Swiss Alps
29:47And not south
29:48And yes, it might be insane
29:50But he was absolutely spot on
29:52That's just an incredible level of detail
29:55Just to find out whether or not a fairly ordinary midfielder
29:58Was going to be joining your football club
30:01Every summer transfer window
30:02That's a time when squads are turned over
30:04And you might see that, like, to a real big extent
30:06Where sometimes 20 players leave
30:0820 players come in
30:09But it's normally done over a period of several months
30:12It's very rare that clubs will turn over the entire teams
30:15All on the same day
30:16But that's exactly what happened to Kilmarnock
30:19In the summer of 2016
30:21On the 30th of June 2016
30:24The then-manager Lee Clark
30:26Brought 11 players into his club at the one time
30:30As we can see with this incredible photograph
30:33That was posted on Kilmarnock's Twitter page
30:35Now, I'm going to do my best
30:36Norm Macdonald at the YouTube Awards voice here
30:39When I list all 11 players
30:41Callum McFadgen
30:42Josh Webb
30:43Jamie Cobain
30:44Jonathan Byrne
30:45Mark Waddington
30:47William Boyle
30:48Jordan Jones
30:49Martin Smith
30:50Oliver Davis
30:51Solomon Koulibaly
30:52And Flo Bojaj is here
30:54The true stars of this period of time at Kilmarnock
30:59Is the admin staff
31:00Like, that is an absolute
31:02What a job
31:02Yeah, yeah, they're all the evil guys
31:04We need pensions
31:06We need HR
31:06We need all sorts
31:07Cheers, lads
31:08All the best
31:08They're not only
31:11We had the infamous photo
31:12But also the press conference
31:13Where the journalists spoke to every single one of them
31:16At the same time
31:16How long's the desk
31:17I just imagined
31:18And that's what, again, what makes it so magical
31:21Is anything that happened last season
31:23It doesn't matter
31:24Here's a brand new team
31:25They've been entirely signed
31:26Everything you knew
31:27Doesn't matter
31:27A lot of the time
31:28A lot of the time when we see new players coming in
31:30In the summer transfer window
31:31There's a lot of hype created about them
31:32You know, they get absolutely fantastic graphics
31:34Incredible photographs
31:35You know, there's like a real team of people involved
31:38You know, Photoshop, After Effects
31:40The works
31:41To hype up these players
31:42And make them look as magnificent as possible
31:44Wasn't quite the case in the summer of 2017
31:47When Stennis Muir signed Ross Dunlop and Mick Dunlop
31:50From Albany Rovers
31:51And rather than putting them in a glitzy studio
31:53And giving them a lot of pizzazz and razzmatazz
31:55They basically took photographs of them in a McDonald's restaurant
31:58Signing their contracts
31:59As Fowler mentioned earlier
32:01Everyone wants to be ITK
32:03About the summer transfer window
32:04But some people like to play pranks
32:07And our very own Joel Sked
32:09Fell foul of one of these pranks recently
32:11Oh, this one
32:13From Handsome Flacco Jodoye
32:16Are we looking at Anderlecht striker Haywood Jablomi
32:19I need to double it
32:21I need to see if this is actually a real person
32:22It's like you're getting Bart Simpson
32:24Yeah
32:25Haywood Jablomi
32:28Ah, okay
32:31I see what's happened here
32:32I've just read that, mate
32:35Oh, dear
32:36I bet that will live with me
32:38He's a type of editing
32:38Hey, Wood Jablomi
32:42That will stay with me forever
32:43I just, the same thing
32:45Mouthing the words out
32:46Pennies drop
32:48I've just been made a fool of
32:49Just another day at the office
32:52There's been a lot of players
32:54That have come in over the summer
32:56Tony, who has been your favourite so far?
32:59Ah, Thatcher, this is really easy
33:00Emmanuel Longelo
33:01That's signed for Motherwell
33:04He's signed from Birmingham
33:05For a reported like a six-figure fee
33:07But this guy is liquid
33:09Scottish football
33:10You cannot miss him on the pitch
33:12His engine up and down left-hand side
33:13He's really good at dribbling
33:14He drops a little slalom in through players
33:16But always when it gets to the end
33:17He just crosses the ball at the pitch
33:19It's mesmerising
33:22But on top of that
33:23He might not have brought his crossing boots
33:25But he's absolutely brought his shooting boots
33:27He's already got four goals from Motherwell
33:29From full-back
33:30Right now I think he's been involved in 44% of their league goals
33:35This guy is pure Scottish football
33:37And I hope it just continues to rattle on this way
33:40There is a lot of football taking place over the weekend
33:43And I think we owe it to ourselves and to our viewers to select the very best games
33:48The connoisseur's choice of where to go at the weekend
33:51And we've got a hearts fan and we've got a house fan
33:54And I think in the Scottish Premiership there is only one game we can discuss
33:58The Edinburgh Derby
33:59Yeah, the pissed-up derby as it'll be this weekend
34:01Because this game is live on the telly at 5.45 kick-off on a Saturday
34:06All police leave cancelled
34:07Yeah, I have no idea how the police actually agreed to this
34:11But do you know what?
34:12Hopefully everybody behaves themselves to an extent
34:14You still want the tribalism, you still want the hatred
34:17But it should lead at the very least to an absolutely cracking atmosphere
34:20And hopefully, almost expectantly
34:23Surely, surely with everything going on with both teams
34:26We should have a good game of football between the two for a change
34:29How are you feeling about it, Phil? Are you feeling confident?
34:32I'm actually confident
34:33Especially since Hibs have won the last two matches
34:36One defeat and eight
34:37Aye, still stings
34:39I feel like we're due
34:39Hibs are doing reasonably well at the moment
34:41Maybe they would have hoped to be doing a little bit better than this
34:44Considering how good they were last season
34:45And how good they looked in the European games
34:47But they're still undefeated in the league
34:50And Hearts obviously spoke about them earlier
34:52Absolutely flying at the top of the table
34:53Hearts at home
34:54So, yeah, I do have confidence that
34:55Hearts will use that momentum going into this game
34:58To be able to get the better of their rivals
35:00I'm buzzing about the fact that
35:02Obviously, because Hibs are still undefeated
35:04But not in a cool way
35:05As possibly Hearts
35:06And the hand-wringing that's going on
35:08As always about Hearts being good
35:09It always just hits the stratosphere
35:11So to do it this time
35:13Go to Tyne Castle
35:13And beat them
35:14And actually be the only undefeated team left
35:17In Edinburgh
35:17I think will be very, very sweet
35:20You're pretty confident in this one, Tony
35:21You're pretty juiced up for it
35:22All these guys that have come for these
35:24Lower league teams
35:25Have they ever played in the real stuff?
35:27Where it's like poison?
35:29How are they going to cook a lot?
35:30That's fine now
35:31Well, you know it's something
35:34That's a very compelling argument
35:35To go to Tyne Castle for this one
35:37But I suggest that
35:38You can maybe make a doubleheader of this
35:40I'm going to talk about
35:41The real Edinburgh Derby
35:42It's taking place at Ainsley Park
35:44At 3 o'clock
35:45Between the Spartans
35:46And Edinburgh City
35:47This is going to be a fantastic game
35:49It's top of League 2
35:50Versus the bottom of League 2
35:52I think there's a lot riding in this one
35:53But really
35:54The teams are pretty evenly matched
35:56Because we're talking about
35:57A points deduction
35:57That's really making it like this
35:59I think it's important
36:00To talk about Edinburgh's current situation
36:02They were deducted 15 points
36:03At the beginning of the season
36:04Which really scuppered
36:05Any hopes they had
36:06Of challenging for the title
36:07They triggered an insolvency event
36:10For owing a small bit of money
36:11To a creditor
36:12And even though
36:13It was only for such a short period
36:14That comes with a 15 point deduction
36:16However
36:17It has had a galvanising effect
36:19In the club
36:19They have been chipping away
36:20At that 15 point deduction
36:22They've been playing some pretty good football
36:23At the process
36:24And if they can win on Saturday
36:25It takes them to zero points
36:27That might not sound
36:28Like a particularly great achievement
36:30But I think psychologically
36:31It's enormous for them
36:32And I think that can give them
36:33The platform to go and kick up the table
36:35It's not out with realms of possibility
36:36But I think Edinburgh
36:37Could actually finish in the playoffs
36:39This season
36:39Even with that points deduction
36:41Well I mean you are
36:42Quite literally
36:43The mouthpiece of Edinburgh City football
36:44Oh yeah
36:45I don't mind saying that
36:48I think Edinburgh City
36:50Could take on Real Madrid
36:51And I think Michael McAdoo's team
36:53Have got a wee bit of a chance here
36:54But it's also still going to be
36:56A really tough game
36:57Because the Spartans are flying
36:59At the top of the table
36:59A four point lead
37:00Over East Coast
37:01Not many people saw that
37:02Coming out of this season
37:03The teams don't like each other
37:04That goes back a number of years
37:06But the Spartans do have the edge here
37:08Last season they won both encounters
37:10At Ainsley Park
37:10So a lot riding on this one
37:12So aye
37:13Make it a double header
37:14Ainsley Park in the afternoon
37:15Tyne Castle
37:16Later in the evening
37:17Well that all sounds
37:18That all sounds exceptional
37:20Yeah
37:20And it'll be a wonderful day out
37:22And you're expecting
37:22Some great football
37:24But it's all a bit mainstream
37:25Is it not?
37:26I mean it's all a bit like
37:27Spartans versus Edinburgh City
37:28Yeah
37:28To know things that are going to be good
37:39You need things that are bad
37:41To have that yin and yang
37:43So I want to take you
37:44To quite literally
37:46The worst full time team
37:48In Scotland
37:49And that is up the north east
37:51Once again
37:52Where football is going to die
37:53This year
37:54And Cove Rangers
37:55Are away at East Fife
37:57Yeah it's not been
37:58A good season at all
37:59For Cove Rangers
38:00They lost to Kelty Hearts
38:01The weekend
38:01Beating 2-0
38:02And they're actually
38:03Adrift at the bottom
38:05Of League One
38:06It's not been a good season
38:07At all for Paul Hartley
38:08I think there's been
38:09Like cutbacks at the club
38:11Yeah they don't seem
38:11To have any players
38:12No cutbacks at the club
38:13Doesn't necessarily
38:14Being able to recruit
38:15The players that you want
38:15A lot of key players
38:16Are missing
38:17Mikey Doyle
38:17One of the most reliable
38:18Players in the squad
38:19He's out injured
38:20Fraser Fifey
38:21Declan Glass
38:21It's effectively
38:22A lot of young
38:23Inexperienced players
38:24Taking the first steps
38:25In the game
38:26Smattered with a bit of
38:27Experience there
38:27It's not going well
38:28It's good that you've
38:29Given a bit of
38:30Context to people
38:31Because for me
38:32When I was looking at it
38:33I was like
38:33Did they not finish
38:34Second this season
38:35And were on the brink
38:37Of being promoted
38:38To the championship
38:38So I was a bit
38:39That's the reason
38:40I wanted to go
38:40Like what the hell
38:41Is going on in there
38:42And East Fife
38:43They're mid-table
38:44But they've been
38:45Their games have been
38:46Really exciting
38:46I mean they've averaging
38:47Three goals a game
38:48This year
38:49So even though we're
38:50Talking about
38:50Everything that's going
38:51To be bad
38:52We're doing it
38:52In a world where
38:53I think there's going
38:54To be loads of goals
38:54And loads of excitement
38:55Well gentlemen
38:56I think that'll do us
38:58For the time being
38:59But before we head
39:00Up the road
39:01Can I ask you both
39:02To take me on
39:03A little game
39:04Known as
39:05The Banker
39:06Yes it is back
39:08For season number eight
39:10You know how it works
39:11By now
39:12It's me
39:12Versus the stink
39:14Every week
39:15We guess the outcome
39:16Of Scottish football matches
39:18And we get points
39:19For every correct prediction
39:20We make
39:21This week
39:22Just like every other week
39:24We are competing
39:25For this
39:25The Eamon Brophy
39:27Lone Wolf Trophy
39:29Bigger
39:30Better
39:30And more beautiful
39:31Than it was last year
39:33You can barely look at it
39:34It's so sparkly
39:35And it's somehow got wings as well
39:37Where did they come from?
39:39To fly away from you
39:40When you're trying to win it
39:41No more Tony
39:45No more
39:45That trophy is going to be mine
39:48And now
39:49Scotland men's team
39:51Have got two enormous games
39:52Coming up next week
39:53In their World Cup qualifying campaign
39:55And to celebrate that fact
39:58The stipulation this week is
39:59You can pick from any team
40:01In the SPFL to win
40:03But they must be managed
40:04By a former Scotland international
40:06Or a former Scotland B international
40:09So
40:10Limited options
40:12But options all the same
40:14Not as many as you'd think
40:15But Craig Fowler
40:16We'll come to you first
40:17What are you going for?
40:18I'm going to ignore
40:18Derek McInnesy's
40:19Humble Scotland career
40:20Come on
40:21And instead
40:22I'm going to go for
40:24Partick Thistle
40:25And Mark Wilson
40:26To beat
40:27Our both at home
40:28It's a tricky game
40:29Our both are doing a lot better
40:31In the Championship
40:31Than I think many expected
40:33Coming into this season
40:33So I wouldn't be surprised
40:35If this is a bit of a banana skin
40:36But Thistle are just flying
40:38At this point in time
40:39They're winning every single week
40:40They're playing some really nice football
40:42And a lot of Thistle fans
40:43Who in the summer
40:44Were really unsure
40:45About how it happened
40:47How Wilson got the job
40:48Felt he was kind of like
40:48A cheaper option
40:49Or kind of a lazy option
40:50And he didn't have the
40:52Best of managerial careers
40:53Before that
40:54But fair play to him
40:55He's really getting a tune out
40:56Of this team
40:56He's absolutely cooking at the moment
40:58And I'm really annoyed
41:00Because that was exactly
41:01The game that I was going to go for
41:02Yes
41:03But nevertheless
41:04Still plenty to pick from
41:05So I'm going to look
41:06Very close to home
41:07And I am going to back
41:08Stennis Bureau manager
41:09Gary Naismith
41:10One of the best left backs
41:11This country has ever produced
41:13I'm going to back his team
41:14To beat Montrose
41:15Now Montrose are in really good form
41:17At the moment
41:17Really good form
41:18Actually six wins
41:19And undefeated in seven
41:20In all competitions
41:21And Stennis Bureau
41:22Yes they lost against
41:23Hamilton Academical
41:24At the weekend
41:25But prior to that
41:26They were absolutely flying
41:27And I think it's a really good opportunity
41:29For Stennis Muir
41:29To bounce back
41:30Stennis Muir to win
41:31And a point to me
41:33Tony Anderson
41:34What's his second pick
41:35Let's go to Pataudry
41:36Where Aberdeen
41:38Are playing Dundee
41:39With Stephen Presley
41:41Of course having a
41:42A pretty big
41:43Scotland career
41:43In the past
41:45And this
41:46It seems like
41:47Two teams
41:48It's the two teams
41:48At the bottom of the division
41:50And
41:51We were talking about
41:52Russell Martin
41:53Earlier
41:53Another manager
41:54Who came in
41:55And everyone was
41:56Already unhappy about
41:57Stephen Presley
41:58Man
41:58They were not impressed
41:59And again
42:00We've got to the same thing
42:02They don't like the way he sits
42:03They don't like the way
42:04They don't like the way
42:06That his hair lies
42:06They don't like the fact
42:07That maybe he's aged
42:08Since he last saw him
42:12But it feels like
42:13Such a
42:13Massive game
42:15It's huge
42:15For both clubs
42:16It could be
42:17Huge repentance
42:18Because suddenly
42:18It could change
42:19The whole narrative
42:20About him
42:20He's got a big win
42:21Away from home
42:23And like I said
42:24For Aberdeen
42:24It would really be
42:25We are kicking around
42:26End of days
42:27So that's Stephen Presley's
42:28Dundee to get the win
42:29At Pataudry
42:30Why not
42:30Right now
42:31For my final pick
42:32I'm going to go to
42:33The capital city
42:34There's a very
42:35Very big game
42:36Taking place
42:36And I'm backing
42:38Edinburgh City
42:38To beat the Spartans
42:40It's simple
42:40Michael McIndoe
42:41A Scotland B cap
42:42Listen
42:44I would run through
42:45Brick walls for that man
42:46I know
42:48And I'm not one of his players
42:49I just think
42:50It's a great opportunity
42:52For the Spartans
42:53To extend their lead
42:53At the top of the table
42:54But there's so much
42:56Riding in it
42:56For Edinburgh City
42:57And if they can get
42:58To zero points
42:58Particularly
42:59Against the Spartans
43:01I think it's going to be
43:02Anonymous for them
43:02So I am backing
43:03The citizens for this one
43:04Did Satan have
43:05A very good record
43:06In the derby
43:06Last year as well
43:07They won two games
43:08Where they were both at home
43:09They lost both games away
43:10Ah right okay
43:10The law of averages
43:12The law of averages
43:12Say it back
43:13Listen
43:14That's the best thing
43:16To put your faith in
43:17The law of averages
43:17Because if you
43:18If you can't think of any
43:19Rational or analytical reason
43:21To pick someone
43:22Just go over the law of averages
43:23Eight seasons doing this
43:24And that's what you
43:25Become your
43:26Become your
43:27Tag line
43:28Because it's just easier
43:28Yeah that's
43:29Law of averages
43:31Cheers
43:31A view from the terrace
43:32The law of averages
43:34The law of averages
43:35Is it going to be the same
43:44Do you remember my man
43:46Who used to say
43:47And every minute
43:47I was a girl
43:49I'm sorry
43:49From the 70s
43:50I had a sense
43:51But it made me
43:52I'm sorry
43:53Any other candidates
43:54Can annoy us
43:55And now I say
43:56I'm sorry
43:57I'm sorry
43:58I'm sorry
43:59I'm sorry
44:00I'm sorry
44:01I'm sorry
44:02I'm sorry
44:03I'm sorry
44:04I'm sorry
44:05I'm sorry
44:06I'm sorry
44:07I'm sorry
44:08I'm sorry
44:09I'm sorry
44:10I'm sorry
44:11I'm sorry
44:12I'm sorry
44:13I'm sorry
44:14I'm sorry
44:15I'm sorry
44:16I'm sorry
44:17I'm sorry
44:18I'm sorry
44:19I'm sorry
44:20I'm sorry
44:21I'm sorry
44:22I'm sorry
44:23I'm sorry
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